Bellum Africum 37

Caesar marches out by night

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B. Afr. 37.1Caesar postquam legiōnibus veterānīs duābus, equitātū levīque armātūrā cōpiās suās ex secundō commeātū auxerat, nāvēs exonerātās statim iubet Lilybaeum ad reliquum exercitum trānsportandum proficīscī;After Caesar had increased his forces from the second convoy with two veteran legions, cavalry and light-armed troops, he at once ordered the unloaded ships to set out for Lilybaeum to bring over the rest of the army;Note. ad reliquum exercitum trānsportandum: gerundive of purpose with ad. B. Afr. 37.1ipse VI Kal. Febr.he himself, on 25 January,Note. VI Kal. Febr. = ante diem sextum Kalendās Februāriās, 25 January (46 BC, by the unreformed calendar). The sentence runs on into the next one. B. Afr. 37.1circiter vigiliā prīmā imperat, speculātōrēs appāritōrēsque omnēs ut sibi praestō essent.at about the first watch ordered all his scouts and attendants to be ready at hand for him.Note. vigiliā prīmā: the night was divided into four watches; the first began at sunset. B. Afr. 37.2Itaque omnibus īnsciīs neque suspicantibus vigiliā tertiā iubet omnēs legiōnēs extrā castra ēdūcī atque sē cōnsequī ad oppidum Ruspinam versus, in quō ipse praesidium habuit et quod prīmum ad amīcitiam eius accessit.So, with everyone unaware and suspecting nothing, at the third watch he ordered all the legions to be led out of the camp and to follow him in the direction of the town of Ruspina, where he had a garrison and which had been the first to come over to his friendship.Note. ad oppidum Ruspīnam versus: versus 'towards' follows its phrase. The ablative absolute omnibus īnsciīs neque suspicantibus stresses the surprise.

B. Afr. 37.3Inde parvulam prōclīvitātem dēgressus sinistrā parte campī propter mare legiōnēs dūcit.From there he went down a slight slope and led the legions along the left side of the plain, close to the sea.Note. parvulam prōclīvitātem dēgressus: dēgredior is deponent and takes the slope as a direct object, 'going down a gentle slope'. B. Afr. 37.4Hic campus mīrābilī plānitiē patet mīlia passuum XV;This plain is wonderfully level and stretches for fifteen miles;Note. mīlia passuum XV: accusative of extent of space; a Roman mile is a thousand paces, about 1.5 km. B. Afr. 37.4quem iugum cingēns ā marī ortum neque ita praealtum velut theātrī efficit speciem.a ridge rising from the sea and not very high surrounds it and gives it the look of a theatre.Note. velut theātrī efficit speciem: the ring of low hills gave the plain the look of a theatre. B. Afr. 37.5In hōc iugō collēs sunt excelsī paucī, in quibus singulae turrēs speculaeque singulae perveterēs erant conlocātae, quārum apud ultimam praesidium et statiō fuit Scīpiōnis.On this ridge there are a few high hills, on each of which very old towers and watchtowers, one apiece, had been placed; at the last of these Scipio had a garrison and an outpost.Note. singulae turrēs speculaeque singulae: distributives, 'a single tower and a single watchtower on each'.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)

postquam, conj.	later than, after, when
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
veterānus, -a, -um	veteran
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
levis, -e	light, slight
que, enclitic conj.	and
armātūra, -ae f.	armour, equipment (levis armātūra: light-armed troops)
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
secundus, -a, -um	following, favorable
commeātus, -ūs, m.	supplies, provisions
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctum	increase, enlarge
nāvis, -is, f.	ship
exonerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	unload, discharge (a ship)
statim, adv.	on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
trānsportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus	carry across or over, transport
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
Kalendae, -ārum f. pl.	the Kalends (1st day of the month)
Februārius, -a, -um	of February (Nōnae Februāriae: 5 February)
circiter, prep. with acc. and adv.	about
vigilia, -ae, f.	watch
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus	command, order, enjoin
speculātor, -ōris m.	spy, scout
appāritor, -ōris m.	attendant of a magistrate
omnis, -e	all, every
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus	stand in front; show
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
īnscius, -a, -um	not knowing, unaware
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
suspicor, -spicārī, -spicātus	suspect
tertius, -a, -um	third
extrā (prep. + acc.)	outside, beyond
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead out, draw
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow up, follow; overtake
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
versus (adv.)	toward, in the direction of (often after ad or in + acc.)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
prīmum, adv.	first, in the first place
amīcitia, -ae f.	friendship, alliance
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added
inde (adv.)	from there; then
parvulus, -a, -um	very small, petty
prōclīvitās, -ātis f.	downward slope, descent
dēgredior, -ī, -gressus sum	go down, come down, descend
sinister, -tra, -trum	left
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
campus, -ī, m.	plain, field
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
mare, maris, n.	sea
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
mīrābilis, -e	wonderful, marvellous
plānitiēs, -ēī f.	plain, level ground
pateō, -ēre, -uī	lie open; extend, stretch
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
iugum, -ī, n.	yoke
cingō, cingere, cinxī, cinctus	surround, gird
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
orior, -īrī, -tus	arise, come forth, spring up; ortā lūce, at dawn
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
praealtus, -a, -um	very high; very deep
velut	even or just as, as
theātrum, -ī n.	theatre
efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	make or work out, accomplish, effect
speciēs, -ēī, f.	sight, appearance, shape
collis, -is m.	hill
excelsus, -a, -um	high, tall
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	few
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
turris, -is f.	tower; siege tower
specula, -ae f.	lookout, watchtower, height
pervetus, -eris	very old, ancient
collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	place, station; give in marriage
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
ultimus, -a, -um	farthest, last
statiō, -ōnis f.	outpost, picket

Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text: B. Kübler and E. Wölfflin, C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii, vol. III (Leipzig: Teubner, 1896–97), public domain; transcribed for this app from the Internet Archive scan. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.